When Sonic Mania launched last year it received critical acclaim and restored the faith of many a lapsed Sonic fan. However, as a digital-only affair (no, the collector's edition with a download code doesn't count) it felt very much like a 'bonus' release alongside 2017's full-fat Sonic outing: the much-maligned Sonic Forces.

Fans called for some kind of physical release for Sonic Mania - which was perhaps the best Sonic offering in recent memory and has sold over a million copies - and thankfully, Sega listened. Sonic Mania Plus launches next week and it's the version of Sonic Mania we really should have gotten at launch.

First things first, let's talk about the packaging. Sonic Mania Plus comes in a cardboard slipcase which has a lovely holographic foil effect; inside this, you'll find the standard Switch game case (which has a reversible sleeve inside showing a Genesis-style cover) and a surprisingly lavish 32-page art book containing concept and final artwork from the game itself (check out those logo ideas).

Then there's Sonic Mania Plus the game - Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel are included as playable characters, and there's a remixed "Encore Mode", a four-player competition mode (ideal for when you've got a few friends round) and a few extra cutscenes. Oh, and the battle with Metal Sonic has been retooled to closely resemble the one seen in the oft-ignored 32X title Knuckles' Chaotix.

If you already own Sonic Mania then inserting the game card will simply add the 'Plus' content to your existing game data, which is seamless and rather lovely; instead of creating an entirely new game icon on your Switch home screen, it simply uses the existing Sonic Mania one. Nice.

Is Sonic Mania Plus worth buying if you already own the original game? Depends how badly you want that physical case sitting on your shelf, we guess. If you're steadfastly digital-only then you can download the 'Plus' content for $4.99 / £3.99, whereas the physical version will cost you $29.99 / £29.99.

We'll leave you to wrestle with that taxing monetary puzzle, but there's no denying that this is a lovely physical edition of one of Sega's best games in years. Let's hope Sonic Mania 2 isn't too far away, and that Sega learns from the past and releases a physical version of that on day one.

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Agree. This should have been retail day one. But well, I got the chance to buy it digital day one for half the price thanks to the easy "international eShop travel" method, and considering it cost me about 10 euros, paying now 24,90 (Amazon price minus Prime discount) means I will have paid roughly 35-36 euros for this masterpiece, so this time I'm comfortable with buying again a game that I already have.

With Wonder Boy I... let's say I put the account where I had downloaded it in other hands -ahem- and after this two cases of apparently digital-only game that eventually had a physical version I decided to hold on and study each new potentially big digital release. For example I didn't buy Celeste because it's so obvious it's gonna have a retail edition... Hollow Knight too, and they already said it will.

I purchased the collector's edition last year (PS4). That same month I was finally able to get a Switch, so I bought the version for it also. I need that physical version though (Switch) but i spent enough on gaming stuff this month so hopefully it's not sold out by next month...

I was on the fence about double dipping on this one, because I really wanted the art book and genesis cover, but didn't want to have to insert a cartridge every time just to get access to the plus content. If this unlocks the plus content in the digital version, then I'm pre-ordering now!

@Matthew010 IMO this is by far the best 2D Sonic game, and the least frustrating one too. You'll miss out on some of the fan service, but on the other hand, every level is going to be new for you, so overall I'd say you may even like it more than long time fans. I recommend it.

Oh snap, I was interested in this since I didnt buy the special edition physical copy when it came out, it had a neat statue with it, but cost like $90, so I passed. Anyway, I didnt know this version was going to come with a slipcase and artbook. Anything with an art book, Im sold! (I more-or-less triple-dipped for the recent Shantae Half Genie Hero, and it was worth it for the art book).Gotta go reserve this, ayeeeeee!

While I absolutely despise and loath the 2D sonic franchise for numerous reasons I'm STILL willing to give this a chance.

The reality is, sonic 1-3 were never good games. Even when i had the Genesis back during its run, sonic to me felt like nothing but but a lame gimmick to combat mario. The game wanted you to go fast yet that's when it was at its least playable or unplayable for that matter since it was basically the equivalent of watching somebody on one roller costed ride...

OR inevitably just running into an enemie or falling into a pit of spikes since you couldn't spot was a head of you in time. It was a mess. A complete mess. Sonic 3 was the worst.

Also, when the game doesn't require you to speed up, you're left with sloppy lousy platforming and crummy horrid controls plus bizzar broken feeling level design.

The mascot, music and visuals were nice but that was about it. Even then those 3 games were complete trash when stacked to the wonderfully amazing and magical super mario world. No contest. Not even.

@nab1 I’m surprised you find Mania the least frustrating Sonic game. I was personally really irked by the way it hides the entrances to the Chaos Emeralds and if I fail to get the emerald it locks me out of returning to it to try again.

While admittedly Sonic 1 and 2 wouldn’t let you re-enter a bonus level, they at least weren’t hidden in those games and there were plenty of opportunities to enter them (especially Sonic 2).

I also disliked how few lives they give you after a continue. The last zone in the game is really tough and getting to the final end of game boss with just 1 life and then being sent back to the start of the zone is maddening. Conversely I got to Robotnik on my Nomad with about 15 lives and all the Chaos Emeralds in both Sonic 1 and 2 at the weekend.

@Damo Most people in the US didn't know that it had a different name elsewhere. I guarantee my wife wouldn't know what a Mega Drive was. A lot of people in the US have never heard of the Master System either (I think it only had 2 mil sales here).

Maybe the UK was more aware of it being called the Genesis in the States than we were of the Mega Drive? We usually live in our own little bubble.

@SonOfVon I don't feel silly at all. Money well spent, and it only cost me $44 dollars on Amazon with random discounts over the year I had it preordered. Comes out to roughly 24 dollars for a collectable statue that says "SEGA!" when pressed, a gold ring, which I always wanted as a Sonic Fan, and a mock Sonic Mania Genesis Cartridge. The other 20 was for the price of the game. Now I'm double dipping for another platform, with an artbook, reversable cover, and a shiny sleeve. Growing up on the Genesis, Sonic 3 & Knuckles was my favorite game as a kid, and I don't regret spending some more money on my favorite game of 2017.

@Bulkslash You probably also don't like Sonic 3, considering how the special stage entrances were copied from that game, and how Blue Spheres are the Special Stage Levels. Also, every main series Genesis/Mega Drive Sonic game gave you 3 continues after a game over, and placed you back at the start of a level. It's not doing anything different than the Genesis originals.

@Stocksy Sorry, can't do that. It's worth the money, or at the very least, 5 dollars to update to Mania Plus.

@Incognito_D Well, the base game for Mania is 19.99, the Plus DLC is costing 4-5 depending on your region, and the physical release of Plus has an artbook, which is costing about 5-6 depending on your region.

I respect that you don't like classic Sonic games-- you don't have to. But that doesn't make them bad games. For example: I hate Counterstrike for a lot of reasons, but it's at least a well made game. It's just not for me. Sonic 1-3 are classic icons of the genre that had a major influence on platformers in both style and substance. The evidence of the continued praise, re-releases, huge fanbase, and millions in sales for Sonic Mania show that they are anything but bad games.

@Damo The point is, often in Europe, we're left out from getting little touches like this reversible cover. Sega only had the Genesis artwork for games in the European version of Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on PS3/Xbox 360, for example. So it would just be nice to confirm that Europe gets equal treatment in an article that is read by both Europeans and Americans. Is that really too much to ask for?

@Moroboshi876 I'm curious, how do you travel to get the foreign region/country price on the eShop? Is it just enough to change Switch regions or do you do it on a web browser connected over a VPN? Thanks!

@Francema No, it's not about VPN. You can either temporarily change regions or create a new Nintendo account and have its profile on your Switch alongside yours. Best part is you can play the games downloaded with that account with your original one.

The trickiest part is payment method, that depends on the specific eShop.

Has it been confirmed (or is it safe to assume) that the DLC version will contain ALL of the new in-game features of the Plus release (i.e. should the DLC essentially make previous versions of Mania identical to the physical version of the game)?

Not as wonderful in level design and music as Sonic 3 & Knuckles but a great Sonic game anyway and this physical release is really nice, if only the other Switch physical releases were like this and not bare-bones boxes without any art inside or booklet... or game, even.

@KingdomHeartsFan, yes it is. Wings of Honneamise is my favourite anime, truly awesome. It also has the best soundtrack of any film (not just anime) by the guy that went on to win the Oscar for The Last Emperor.

That's pretty awesome. Yeah sorry for asking but I was looking at it and thinking how familiar it looked. I haven't seen that film in about 17 years but it does have something uniquely beautiful about it that sticks in the mind.

@ArcanineArco Just put in my order from there now. Not often I see them undercutting my usual places much but glad its a good price. Too many places are premium pricing the Switch version over the others.

Also to those who may be curious still. These guys have partnered with Amazon and other big companies before too.

I loved Sonic 1 and 2 as a kid, never had the third one until later on so I don’t have nostalgia for that one. But as soon as this dropped I knew I needed to play it. And I kinda hoped for a physical game to be announced so I never bought the digital. Now I’ve had the physical pre-ordered (for 24,95 euros including shipping) for a while. I can’t wait to finally experience the game!

@Damo Then maybe mention which version it is in the article? I don't just mean to pick on this one article, it's just a general gripe I have with gaming sites only talking about NA versions as the product, and Europeans having to figure out whether it applies to them or not.

Looking forward to having a Mega Drive case on my shelf again (well, sort of). That holographic slipcase makes me think about how holographic stuff was EVERYWHERE in the 90's, which in turn makes me wish there could be a packet of Sonic Mania pogs stuffed into each copy...

Since I already have the digital version, I will probably just pick up the 5 dollar DLC. This really should have been how the game launched, as I do prefer physical copies when I can. But I don't prefer physical copies at the cost of paying 6 times the price compared to a DLC update of a game I already have.

@nab1 Not only that. But should @Matthew010 become a fan of the series and play other games, he could come back to this one more seasoned and experience the bits he may not have understood the first time around.

Wait so if you already own Sonic Mania physically, it automatically updates to Plus for free, but if you own it digitally you have to pay $5? Hopefully I’m reading the article wrong because that’d be lame..

@backlogrob this is the first physical release of the game. So it’s the basegame digital for 20 bucks with the plus content for 5 bucks or the physical edition with artbook which includes everything for 30 bucks.

@nab1It may work that way, as I’ve heard that the switch shares data between physical and digital copy’s in most games. I’m hoping for that too, because I want the switch version of the physical release, but since I already have the digital version, I’d love not needing the cartridge to play and to get the extra content just added to the save file/ game data.